Learning Design skills and Massage skills, an unlikely comparison ……..

[I assume everyone has experienced a massage…]
I enjoy a good head and shoulder massage to relieve me of the sinus headaches and knotted muscles in shoulder from a constantly deskbound, typing job.

I had also given massage to my mother - expected of us, daughters, when we were younger. I was also privileged to be a ‘practice patient’ for a gal who was studying homeopathy when I was living in Portland, Oregon, whenever she needed to practise her massage skills.

Hence, I am speaking with some exposure to the skills required to be a good masseuse.

My experience with finding an effective masseuse – one with good strong fingers, understanding of the anatomy ie where the nerve points are, the purpose of massage, the benefits, and can communicate effectively – has been mostly disappointing.
What has that got to do with Learning Design?

They both require scientific [biological], artistic / aesthetic as well as communication – knowledge and skills.

Both industries are filled with passionate practitioners on the one end of the spectrum and people seeking what looks like a money making, glamour filled jobs [at least that is what the marketing people have made it look like], on the other hand.

Those with solid skills and who are passionate, are most likely the ones on home calls / run boutique shops. No company [SPA, resort, etc.] wants to pay for their level of competence because profit margin is of greater importance than the finesse of the art of massage / quality of learning.

It is hard to quantify soft skills – especially quality and it is a lot easier to create a brand and a sense of ‘class’ with the tried and tested gimmicks.

I happened to have tried the spectrum of service providers between India and Singapore. Not intentionally, really! Looking back, it would seem like I was doing a special coverage on massage service providers. It so happened I had different appetite for risk at different times.

There was the time I checked out a new resort [unknowingly] in Kottayam in costal Kerala. [Some of you would have read my not-so-pleasant experience there in one of my previous blogs.] I was expecting a resort treatment, but got welcomed into what looked like a dis-used veterinary room. The ladies [from the village] do not understand a word of English - not even the simple ‘hard’ or ‘soft’.
More recently, I tried out a SPA centre in a yuppy neighbourhood of Bangalore [Indiranagar]. It is an amazing place with the complete suite of services, the usual hair / nails / facial / massage etc. The entire enchilada. The place runs like clockwork.

Just a few days ago, I decided to pamper myself over the weekend, after having delivered training over the previous 8 or so days. I checked out the SPA in a 6 star hotel. I figure the hotel being so reknown and with the supposed brand and class, I can only get the best.

Contrast the above with [Singapore] Aunty Kimberly who is a few years older than me who does house call including at my neighbours – very strong hands and have understudied with some masters; Daniel who volunteers at the Day Care centre for the elderly who also drops by at my neighbour’s house every 2 weeks – really strong hands and who knows exactly where to release the knots and drain the lymphatic, etc.; Summer who is a young girl at the hair salon I use – strong fingers that give a good treat for relieving head tension; and the Javanese franchise chains – with standard packages.

So I supposed I have sufficient exposure to different levels of service providers to make the following comments.

Many who serve in the massage industry think having strong fingers is the key ‘competency’. Others might think it is the ambience that creates a sense of wellness. [a whole range of different interpretation in between the 2.]

Similarly, many who identify themselves as Instructional Designers, think being able to write well is the key competency, others think it is creativity, still others think it is technology skills … [and a whole range of different interpretation in between].

In both industry, it is true that 70% can do well – just following common sense – because common sense is a key competency which many do not put to use and hence when used, becomes a real advantage.

To be excellent in both industry, one has to have more than just common sense for competency. Knowledge of theories, knowledge of ‘anatomy’, communication skills, and knowledge of a wide variety of disciplines raise a practitioner’s proficiency and associated premium.

Beyond that the X-factor is only reserved for those who function out of passion. Arbitrarily, I will say 70, 20, 10 split. Finding the masseuse who can provide that great release from tension headaches and body aches and understands you, like finding the dedicated Instructional Design who operates holistically, has been a more ‘miss than hit’ experience.

The problem / solution, of course, lies in the recruitment and training of both these professionals. The source needs to be fixed then the rest of the river will flow accordingly. That, however, will not happen, if the customers continue to be in the dark about what they are paying for.

[Oh, in case you want to know about my experience in each of the above massage experience, here it is:

• Resort in Kottayam: [read my previous blog] – very disappointing, felt like an animal [forgot how much I paid]
• Yuppy chain in Indiranagar: felt short changed on time; so so in releasing tension headache [about SGD 28, less than 90m]
• 6 star hotel: yes posh environment, attractive paraphernalia but totally disappointing in the both the finger strength and technique [about SGD 49, less than 60m]
• the individuals in Singapore: strong fingers and decent techniques [about SGD 25, for 20 m]